Sunday, January 30, 2011

After finally biting the bullet and hiring a pet nanny to watch our pooches so we could have a night away, we're back home and enjoying a lazy Sunday. All is well. The pups lived. We didn't blow our entire savings account. Life is good.

A few weeks ago, Randy's coworkers planned a trip to the closest casino around, which happened to be in Grant, Oklahoma (Texas doesn't have casinos). While initially Randy blew it off and used our dogs as an excuse not to go, we both started mulling over the idea that maybe a night away would be a good trial period for the pooches and a pet nanny. So, we booked a room at the hotel & casino for a fun night away. I even planned our route to drive us by Paris, Texas, so we could see the 65' eiffel tower, complete with a cowboy hat on top.

We set out late afternoon. Our first stop was the eiffel tower. Disappointment would sum that sucker up in one word. After 2 road closings and a GPS that was a little unsure of re-routing, we said forget it. (Sidenote: when you name your town after one of the most chic places in the world, you should at least try to live up to it. There was nothing but run-down houses and a few scattered cows. Blah). Here's a googled picture of what we were supposed to see.

After we gave up that little mission, we headed on to Grant, Oklahoma to meet our soon-to-be fortune. We checked in, crashed at the hotel a bit (which was really nice and clean), ate at the buffet (pretty good food, too), and then decided to get the night started at the ATM.

Let's just say this.... we didn't loose everything. At one point, we were up $30 (too bad it was only 10 minutes in to gambling), then we were down almost everything, and we regained most of it to end up only $50 behind. Not bad. Especially since we were at the place for 5+ hours (okay, so I got a little addicted to a certain spot.... I can see how people can get caught up in the thought process of "If I just keep playing, I could recoup what I've lost. Maybe this next time will be the big one"). But we did stop. And I thought, for $10 an hour of entertainment, we had a great time. I was more impressed that Randy and I outlasted all of his coworkers. We were the first ones there, and the last ones to leave. It was nice to prove to myself that I'm not as old as I act during the week (my current bedtime is around 9:30, with a shower and in pj's by 8:00). And, in the morning, we visited the breakfast buffet, which turned out to be awesome, since our tab was picked up by a really nice couple who had a coupon for $30 worth of food... which they did not use entirely. Awesome. It was our lucky day....maybe we should've tried the slots again....

All in all, Randy and I enjoyed each other and a weekend away. We need to do it more often (like maybe next week... I feel like we could hit it big if we just had another chance..... ha. just kidding.)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Winter has finally arrived in Texas. We had our first snow today! And with some luck, I might even be able to squeak out a snow day tomorrow (our area is in the 3-6 inches range). Hooray for 60-degree weather one day and a winter snow advisory the next.... best of both worlds.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy New Year, friends! Just for fun, the husband and I get a kick out of reading our daily horoscopes. My overall 2011 horoscope read very hopeful for the Virgo (me). Some of it (while quite generic) went something like this...

"This year favors the clean slate approach to all matters of self-help, renewal and transformation of your personality. You're leaving many aspects of your old self behind in order to become a better and more authentic version of who you really are."

So, before I get too far into the new year, let's review 2010... it was quite the year of change!

Happenings of 2010 included:

- having a professional signature ending in M.S., CCC-SLP (I'm a completely certified SLP)

- deciding to take a new job for an unknown district in a completely different state after only a 30 minute phone interview

- putting our first house on the market and moving 12 hours away

- living without my husband for 6 weeks (never again....) and "rooming" with my grandparents (which, while it got old quickly, was a great experience to hear stories, see pictures, and be with people I really didn't know all that much)

- bought our second house for a steal & continue to own our "vacation" home in Alton, IL

- had the opportunity to get the "big family" experience... I love the people in my family... we have a great time!